County: Dublin Site name: DUBLIN: Christchurch Place, Wood Quay Ward
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: Margaret Gowen
Site type: Town defences
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 715126m, N 734926m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.352006, -6.270732
The investigation was initially carried out to assess the results of one of many trial borings on the site, which were monitored by Brendán Ó Ríordáin. The bore-hole in question was located inside the supposed line of the medieval city wall at the south-east of the area to be developed (close to Ross Road and Derby Square). The core revealed over 8m of archaeological deposits, the deepest of which was dated, by the presence of pottery, to the 13th century.
A preliminary investigation of the site using three small machine-excavated test pits revealed that the deep stratigraphy in the area of the bore-hole in question (close to Derby Square) represented the fill of the town ditch. Remains of the medieval city wall were revealed, at a depth of 6.5m below present ground level, located some 20m to the north of the supposed line of the city wall as indicated by previous research.
Later, two further machine-excavated trenches were opened in order to locate the position of the wall as it runs westwards towards the site of Geneval's Tower, as its position has a considerable bearing on the pile grid for the proposed building in the area.
In the westernmost cutting substantial remains of the wall were encountered and, with very limited clearance, there was a strong suggestion that the remains of the tower occurred in the area opened. In this position, some 25m west of the north-south boundary wall of the Ross Road flats, the city wall lies some 13m to the north of the previously supposed line.
A final cutting, between Geneval's Tower and the preliminary test pit beside Derby Square, revealed a possible portion of the wall, but the investigation was hampered by the presence of a confluence of four later walls over the portion revealed. Furthermore, the masonry of the earlier structure, which did lie in the correct position, did not bear all the characteristics of the city wall exposed in the other two cuttings.
Unfortunately, detailed examination and interpretation of the remains was not possible within the framework of the investigation carried out.
5 St Catherine's Road, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
